Quick Info
Who are we? What do we do?
We take pride in being a beach-dedicated club and comprehensive beach volleyball program that specializes in offering complete and community-based instruction to achieve our goals in player development. We strive to provide the best training based on current techniques and strategies being used at the national level, emphasizing lifelong learning and fundamental values that help on the court and in life. We teach and promote confidence, integrity, responsibility, competitiveness, teamwork, communication and work ethic, among other intangibles. In doing so, our club has a tradition of producing college athletes playing for top NCAA programs.
We host events and tournaments which give players and the community an opportunity to connect and compete. These events and tournaments are some of the best in the area and feature the best our club has to offer.
Founded by Lucas Bol, Santa Cruz Beach Volleyball Club is the next progression in the development of beach volleyball in Northern California. Formerly Main Beach Sand Club, Santa Cruz Beach Volleyball Club is a stand alone beach volleyball program featuring some of the most experienced, innovative and skilled beach volleyball coaches in the area.
How does the club work?
We aim to keep our organization and programs as simple as possible, so we can focus on and emphasize the important stuff— teaching and learning.
We split the year into four seasons- Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer. When doing this, we take into account school and sport schedules to make a calendar that makes sense and allows the greatest opportunities for our athletes to excel not just in our club, but in school and other sports.
Fall: September, October, November
Winter: December, January, February
Spring: March, April, May
Summer: June, July, August
Each season has three main programs: Youth Development Program (YDP), FUNdamentals, and Training Groups. Players sign up and tryout for their desired program each season. The three programs are all part of our development pathway.
What is FUNdamentals?
FUNdamentals (Elementary School, Junior High, High School)
FUNdamentals Training is geared to all players wanting to focus on the all important fundamental skills and stratgies to be siuccessful. In this program, we will focus on the fundamental techniques needed to play at a high level. This is the start of our training pathway, and new players generally begin in this program. The knowledge they gain will be utilized and expanded upon throughout their entire time with the club. We teach the same technique and skills as we do to our older players. For that reason, participation in FUNdamentals by a more experienced player can still be effective, and can reinforce and tune up the simple, fundamental techniques the game is based on. The main focus of the program will be to address the randomness, simplicity, and reactionary aspect of the game. Participation in FUNdamentals is a great way to increase a players overall volleyball ability and is great preparation for indoor volleyball seasons, as well as beach volleyball tournaments and games. As the name suggests, this program (and all our programs) are fun. It is important that the game is fun, and practice is fun.
What are Training Groups?
Training Groups (Junior High and High School)
We established the first Training Groups program in the Bay Area summer of 2013. Since then, we've continued to innovate and excel at providing the best training to our athletes using this model. Our Training Groups program has produced more NCAA DI beach volleyball athletes than any other program in northern California.
Training Groups are the equivalent to a beach "team". In creating training groups, we are assembling groups of similarly skilled and like minded players to train together. Often times, Training Groups represent a higher level of play and experience, but can also be offered at beginning skill levels.
Training Groups provide a platform and environment for advanced skill and game play development. Players and coaches are able to work closely with one another to develop, plan, and achieve goals. All aspects of beach volleyball are addressed by the coaches, and we go beyond teaching just the skills. Given beach volleyball is a player driven sport- during gameplay coaches often have little input, players must find and retain partners, players self manage their schedules and tournaments- we prepare our athletes to be self sufficient and confident in their abilities as a player, manager and communicator.
A huge aspect of the success of our training group program is our coaching staff. The training group program has the best beach volleyball coaches available in the area, and players get the opportunity to work closely with them in a focused and fun environment.
How do I join a Training Group?
Each season (Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer) we will host a tryout. Players will be placed into groups and train together for that season based on their tryout. Each group will have a coach that works with them for the duration of the season. Each season will have a specific practice and tournament schedule associated with it.
How do I join FUNdamentals?
FUNdamentals is a no tryout program that allows beginning and intermediate players the opportunity to learn the game. We will typically hold an orientation at the beginning of each season to help us organize and get to know the players, or the programs will be open enrollment.
What makes our summer camps different from the rest?
Our summer camps feature dedicated and experienced coaches who teach the game, while having fun. Lead coaches organize and prepare a thoughtful week of instruction tailored to the participants, taking into accounts the areas of instruction needing most attention. We feature a MAX 1-8 coach to player ratio per court. Each court has a dedicated coach overseeing and instructing players 100% of the time. In the framework of our club, camps are a first step in learning to play and love the game, and we teach all participants skills they will need to progress to the highest levels of the game.
What is our Development Pathway for youth athletes?
Our Development Pathway is the progression of programs we implement as a club to teach youth athletes the sport of beach volleyball. Our pathway is designed to prepare players for NCAA and professional competition. It is split into three distinct time periods:
Elementary School (grades 2-6)
First introductions to the game though our Youth Program (YP). During this time period we recommend playing multiple sports and not specializing in any one specific sport yet.
Middle School (grades 6-8)
Players move on from our YP to the more advanced programs of our Training Groups and FUNdamentals. We recommend narrowing down the sports being played and focus on just a few. We find 2-3 sports during this time to work out well.
High School (grades 9-12)
Players move on from FUNdamentals into Training Groups. During this time we find it beneficial for players to specialize more, and fully focus on 1-2 sports. However, we always encourage players to maintain other sports and activities as hobbies during this time.
What is our Youth Program?
Our Youth Program is a specialized program for grades 2-6. The purpose of the program is to introduce the sport of volleyball to new players, and to begin to teach the basics in a fun environment. This program implements special balls and equipment designed for players of this age group. The main program goals are for players to learn to serve, pass, set, spike, read the play, and move to the ball. General coordination and athleticism will also be trained. The purpose of this program at the club level is to get players ready for the more advanced skills and situations found in our middle school programs.
This is a no cut program, all players are welcome to join. Sessions do have limited space, so registrering early is a good idea.
